Pedometer Challenge
Report
Monday 25th August 2008 –
Sunday 15th September 2008
Partner Organisations
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................. 3
2.0 BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................. 4
3.0 ORGANISATION LINKS .................................................................................................. 5
3.1 MUNICIPAL PUBLIC HEALTH PLAN ................................................................................... 5
3.2 COUNCIL PLAN 2006 – 2010: ....................................................................................... 5
4.0 STAKEHOLDERS ............................................................................................................ 5
5.0 CHALLENGE REPORT ..................................................................................................... 6
5.1 PROMOTION .............................................................................................................. 6
5.2 LAUNCH.................................................................................................................... 6
5.3 COLLATION OF DATA.................................................................................................... 6
5.4 TWILIGHT STROLL........................................................................................................ 6
5.5 PEDOMETERS ............................................................................................................. 6
5.6 BUDGET.................................................................................................................... 6
5.7 PRIZES...................................................................................................................... 7
5.8 NEWSLETTERS ............................................................................................................ 7
5.9 TEAM LEADER INFORMATION PACK ................................................................................. 8
5.10 POST CHALLENGE ...................................................................................................... 8
6.0 EVALUATION................................................................................................................ 8
6.1 PRE ASSESSMENT FORMS.............................................................................................. 8
6.2 POST ASSESSMENT FORMS ............................................................................................ 8
6.3 OVERALL EVALUATION ................................................................................................. 9
7.0 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................10
8.0 APPENDIX LISTS...........................................................................................................11
8.1 PEDOMETER CHALLENGE POSTER ...................................................................................12
8.2 TEAM LEADER INFORMATION PACK ................................................................................14
8.3 PRE AND POST ASSESSMENT FORM ................................................................................26
8.4 TEAM CERTIFICATE .....................................................................................................29
8.5 EVALUATION DATA.....................................................................................................31
8.6 MEDIA RELEASES .......................................................................................................47
8.7 NEWSLETTERS ...........................................................................................................52
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1.0 Executive Summary
The Greater Shepparton on the Moove Pedometer Challenge was held from Monday 25th August
2008 to Sunday 15th September 2008. The program was facilitated through the Greater
Shepparton on the Moove focus group which is a program that links directly to the Greater
Shepparton City Council’s Municipal Public Health Plan.
The aims of the Greater Shepparton on the Moove Pedometer Challenge were;
To increase the participation in walking over a four week period
To educate the community on how many steps they were currently undertaking on a
daily basis
To promote physical activity, nutrition programs and activities which are currently
offered to residents in Greater Shepparton.
The challenge attracted 172 teams from 42 organisations throughout the municipality. The
teams consisted of between four to six members with a total participation of 933 individuals
which equates to 1.6% of the entire population for the Greater Shepparton municipality. The
Challenge was held over a four week period with participants registering their daily steps and
reporting in once a week on their progress.
The participant evaluation confirms the success of the program and potential for further
challenges with 100% of participants enjoying the challenge and a significant increase in the
amount of physical activity and walking undertaken by the participants from the start to the
conclusion of the challenge.
A component of the Challenge was to hold a community event to celebrate the completion of
the challenge and to present the winners with their prizes. The Twilight Stroll was a major
success with over 500 people participating. The stroll invited members of the community to
walk from Aquamoves to Kidstown and enjoy free food and entertainment. Feedback from the
stroll suggested future strolls would be highly supported.
The weekly newsletter provided an opportunity for the challenge to meet its aims by educating
participants on existing resources available to them to assist their healthy lifestyle. The
newsletter also provided profiles on other individuals and teams undertaking the challenge.
The Greater Shepparton on the Moove focus group would be supportive of future Pedometer
Challenges to be facilitated; however investigation would be required into online data entry
rather than manual entered. The online data entry would ideally include Team and Individual
registrations, weekly data entry and pre and post evaluations.
The Pedometer Challenge was deemed a success based on the significant amount of participants
undertaking the challenge and the participant feedback at the conclusion. The aims of the
Challenge were also met through the education of participants throughout the four week
Challenge. Overall the Challenge was a massive success in raising the awareness of the benefits
of walking in our community.
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2.0 Background
Pedometer Challenges are a successful method of encouraging members of the community to
increase their daily steps. Not only does the pedometer directly motivate participants to ensure
they continue to increase their steps but it also brings out the competitive side to ensuring your
teams steps are better than the other teams involved in the Challenge.
Over the past four years agencies throughout the Greater Shepparton municipality have hosted
pedometer challenges targeting different groups. In 2004 ValleySport undertook a program
called ‘Take a step’ which involved 30 participants of the city’s workforce undertaking the
challenge with results been monitored through the local media. To build on the success of the
‘Take a step’ challenge in 2006, the Goulburn Valley Primary Care Partnership facilitated a
pedometer challenge inviting PCP members to submit teams. Over the four week challenge a
total of 48 teams participated.
In June 2008 the Greater Shepparton on the Moove focus group identified the need for a
community activity that could encourage physical activity and a sense of team and community
involvement. The group felt that the establishment of a pedometer program for the entire
community would fulfill these aims. The Pedometer Program also links in directly with the main
aim of Greater Shepparton on the Moove to encourage people to be physically active by means
of walking.
The Greater Shepparton on the Moove Pedometer Challenge was held from Monday 25th August
2008 to Sunday 15th September 2008. Teams of four to six participants were invited to register
for the four week challenge documenting their daily steps. Team leaders were appointed for
each team ensuring weekly steps were recorded.
The final count of participants involved in the Pedometer Challenge were as follows
172 Teams
933 Participants
42 Organisations
The steps were calculated on a weekly basis with team leaders required to fill out the weekly log
sheets and send them through to Council to collate and calculate top teams over the week.
Over the four weeks the total overall steps for the challenge were as follows
Week 1: 52,752,289
Week 2: 53,724,240
Week 3: 53,588,149
Week 4: 46,556,501
Throughout the challenge information was provided to participants on physical activity and
nutrition through weekly newsletters distributed to the team leaders. This information was
provided through the expertise of members in the Greater Shepparton on the Moove focus
group.
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3.0 Organisation Links
The delivery of the Greater Shepparton on the Moove pedometer challenge links in with several
Greater Shepparton City Council documents.
3.1 Municipal Public Health Plan
The Municipal Public Health plan was established after consideration of information in relation
to local community health needs and public health research, as well as the achievements and
evaluation of the 2002-2005 Municipal Public Health Plan. The plan was build on the four areas
of significant community importance:
• Sense of Belonging and Connectedness
• Safe and Healthy Environment
• Physical Activity and Nutritional Wellbeing
• Minimisation of Drug and Alcohol Misuse.
The Physical Activity and Nutritional Wellbeing component includes a key strategy to implement
tasks identified under the Greater Shepparton on the Moove Project. The implementation of a
pedometer challenge was identified as a key task for the Greater Shepparton on the Moove
project.
3.2 Council Plan 2006 – 2010:
The Council Plan is a medium term document, which provides a vital link between the long term
aspirations contained in the Greater Shepparton 2030 Strategy and Municipal Strategic
Statement and the short term delivery of programs, services and activities, as outlined in annual
Council budgets. The Council plan identifies a key strategic objective to implement the Greater
Shepparton Public Health Plan and deliver the intended outcomes.
4.0 Stakeholders
The following stakeholders were involved in the Pedometer Challenge
Greater Shepparton City Council
Aquamoves
ValleySport
Goulburn Valley Community Health
Goulburn Valley Primary Care Partnership
Vision Australia
Goulburn Valley Primary Division of General Practice
Greater Shepparton Indoor Sports Facilities
SPC- Ardmona Kidstown
Pedometer Challenge members
Local Media
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5.0 Challenge Report
5.1 Promotion
A Pedometer Challenge Poster was developed and distributed through email and on the Greater
Shepparton on the Moove website. Media releases were developed and distributed to all local
media with majority promoting the challenge.
See appendix for copies of newsletters
5.2 Launch
The launch of the Pedometer Challenge was held in the Maude Street Mall on Friday 22 August
2008. Teams that had registered were invited along to collect their registration bags, receive
details for the challenge and enjoy the free morning tea that was provided. An additional 20
teams registered on the day.
The launch attracted a large crowd and local media outlets including the SN Weekly and Win TV
were in attendance and promoted the launch.
5.3 Collation of Data
Due to the staff hours required to enter the weekly log sheets it was decided to utilise an
external contractor. Team sheets were required to be sent to the GSCC by 5pm Monday weekly
and the contractor received the sheets on the Tuesday and took approximately 6 hours to input.
5.4 Twilight Stroll
To celebrate the conclusion of the Challenge a Twilight Stroll was held inviting all members of
the community to register at Aquamoves and walk to Kidstown (approx 3km walk). At Kidstown
food and entertainment were provided at no cost to participants. Prizes were awarded to the
winners of the Pedometer Challenge during the evening and a shuttle bus was available for the
return trip for those who didn’t walk back to Aquamoves to collect their cars.
5.5 Pedometers
The pedometers were obtained from an internet based company called ‘Promotions Only’ who
provided the pedometers at a cost of between $7.61 - $8.13. The reason for the difference in
price range was due to not enough pedometers originally ordered and additional supplies
having to be obtained at short notice. The first batch of 500 pedometers also had the GSOTM
logo printed on the cover, which was an additional cost to the price of the pedometers. Due to
the cost of the pedometers the accuracy and quality were not the most desirable with some
pedometers returned for replacement.
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5.6 Budget
The total budget for the Challenge is as follows
Item Cost
Pedometers $7,561.71
Launch $169.10
Prizes – Sports Power $90.91
Prizes – Firenzies $650.00
Data Entry $990.91
Go For Your Life merchandise $2,385.65
TOTAL $11,848.01
The Twilight Stroll was held in conjunction with the Pedometer Challenge however it was not
necessarily an essential component of the program. Costs involved for the Twilight Stroll are
detailed as follows
Item Cost
Kidstown - Food and Drinks $1,668.00
Kidstown - Children’s Activities $1,170.00
Shuttle Bus- Jacobson Bus Company $101.75
Musical Entertainment- Cindy Doherty $200.00
Advertisements - Shepparton News $1,587.42
Registration Barriers (relocation) - GSCC $233.37
TOTAL $4,960.54
5.7 Prizes
Prizes were awarded for the following
Highest Average Team Steps - $200 Restaurant Voucher and Go For Your Life packs.
Highest Average Team Steps - $200 Restaurant Voucher and Go For Your Life packs.
Top 6 Individual Steppers - $20 Sports Voucher and Go For Your Life packs.
Individual Steps Winner (Female) - $100 Restaurant Voucher and Go For Your Life pack.
Individual Steps Winner (Male) - $100 Restaurant Voucher and Go For Your Life pack.
Most Creative Team Name- $50 Restaurant Voucher
Organisation with most amount of teams - Group Fitness Class at Aquamoves for 25
people.
Health promoting organisation- 2 hour court hire at Shepparton Sports Stadium.
5.8 Newsletters
Newsletters were produced on a weekly basis throughout the challenge with information
provided to challenge participants on
Nutritional Update
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Team and Individual Profiles
Activity Update
Sport and Recreation wrap
Upcoming events e.g. Twilight Stroll, Walktober
See appendix for copies of newsletters
5.9 Team Leader Information Pack
All team leaders received an information pack with their pedometers at the launch of the
Challenge. The information pack provided the team leaders with the following information
Team leader letter outlining the details of the challenge
Team leader rules and responsibilities
Nutrition and healthy eating fact sheet
Physical activity fact sheet
Safety tips
Team leader checklist calendar
Weekly log sheets
5.10 Post Challenge
All team members were provided with a certificate to acknowledge their participation in the
Pedometer Challenge.
6.0 Evaluation
6.1 Pre Assessment Forms
Assessment forms were sent to all participants prior to the commencement of the challenge and
59 forms were returned with the following information on participants;
Sex - 71.2% Female and 28.8% Female
Age group categories
o 50.8% aged between 35-65,
o 47.5% aged between 18-35 years and
o 1.7% aged between 0 - 12.
57.6% had heard of the GSOTM Website
79% of people found out through their workplace about the challenge, 10% through
friend and family and remaining through TV, Newsletter, Poster, Flyer and website.
6.2 Post Assessment Forms
Assessment forms were sent to all team members who participated in the program and 63
forms were returned with the following information on participants;
- Sex - 77.8% Female and 22.2% Male
- Age group categories
o 55.6% aged between 35-65 years old,
o 42.9% aged between 18- 35 % and
o 1.6% aged 65+
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6.3 Overall Evaluation
The evaluations received from participants whilst undertaking the post assessments indicated
that the challenge was a success with 100% of respondents said they enjoyed participating in
the challenge. An additional 81.0% indicated that they are going to continue to use their
pedometers after the challenge.
Some other interesting feedback included the following
How many times a week do you usually do 20 minutes or more
of vigorous intensity physical activity that makes you sweat or
puff and pant?
18
16
14
Amount of People
12
10 Pre
8 Post
6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+
Times a week
Figure 1 – Pre and Post physical activity trends
Did the challenge motivate you to walk more?
No
6%
No
Yes
Yes
94%
Figure 2 – Motivation for walking
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How many times a week do you usually do 30 minutes or more
of walking
25
20
Amount of people
15
Pre
Post
10
5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+
Times a week
Figure 3 – Pre and Post walking trends
7.0 Conclusion
The pedometer challenge provided the Greater Shepparton community not only with an
opportunity to increase their physical activity levels over a four week period, but also to increase
their knowledge on the benefits of physical activity. The aims of the program were all meet with
the weekly newsletters playing a pivotal role to the success of the program.
Feedback from participants indicated that the program was successful in their opinions with all
participants indicating that they enjoyed the challenge and 81% continuing to utilise their
pedometer to track their daily steps. The most interesting feedback was the significant change
from the pre to post assessments in participation in 30 minutes or more a week of walking (see
figure 3).
Whilst the program was successful there are still some things that would need to be further
investigated when consideration is being given to facilitating future Pedometer Challenges.
These to include the following
Online registrations of teams and steps
Online evaluation forms (pre and post)
Email correspondence with all participants not just team leader (information not
provided to team in some cases)
Pedometer quality, investigate participants having their own pedometers or paying for
better quality ones.
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8.0 Appendix Lists
8.1 Pedometer Challenge Poster
8.2 Team Leader Information Pack
Team Leader Letter
Team Leader Rules and Responsibilities
Team Leader Checklist Calendar
Safety Tips
Registration Form
Nutrition and Healthy Eating Fact Sheet
Physical Activity Fact Sheet
Weekly log sheets
8.3 Pre and Post Assessment Form
8.4 Certificates
8.5 Evaluation Data
8.6 Media Releases
8.7 Newsletters
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